Path of Blood Review

Path of Blood is a never before seen insight into Islamic terrorism. Post 9/11 the Saudi special forces captured over 500 hours of jihadi home videos. Director Jonathan Hacker and producer Thomas Small were given access to this footage and what results is an engrossing often times hard to watch delve into the consciousness of modern day Islamic terrorism.

﻿

When you think of the war on terror, US troops in Afganistan & later Iraq and Yemen come to mind. The real war on terror however is being fought between Jihadis and the countries in the arab world they are attacking because they consider them too nationalistic. Path of Blood gives you an insight into this world

What makes Path of Blood different from other documentaries about Islamic terrorism is its drawn completely from footage shot by the al-Qaeda terrorists themselves spliced with footage for the Saudi special forces on their anti-terror operations. What results is a blistering insight into the lives and minds of these brainwashed young men as they plan and carry out their terror attacks as well as they seemenly normal home lives. This side of things is in many ways very funny and very relateable to the point that these characters become likeable. This is then interjected with scenes of their attacks and the piles of bodies on screen

The movie’s power comes from its unbiased non-objective viewpoint. Its not out there to push a specific narrative, agenda or to answer questions we might have. Its left to the viewer to answer these questions for themselves. What results is 90 minutes that this film immerses you into the world of modern day terror cells and the counter intelligence operations of the Saudi security services. The viewer is left to make their own assumptions and do their own research. What you get with Path of Blood is a view through the looking glass into a world that is otherwise not experienced like this

Path of Blood gives you a real insight into the lives of these terror cells from their own home movies including some very funny at times outtakes and footage of them at fun and play. Together with this is footage of planning and carrying out actual terror attacks. What we are exposed to is these terrorists are not the sadists they are made out to be – their acts of terror are solely against those they believe are opposed to their views. Between each other there is love, friendship and compassion. This has lead to the film being accused by some of humanizing terrorists, which is unjustified. What Path of Blood is a real account of the people who carry out these attacks without bias. These outtakes are countered with some hard to watch scenes of them carrying out operations as well as footage shot by the Saudi counter intelligence services of the aftermath of these attacks and their counter operations. We see bullet ridden buildings and piles of dead bodies as well as the kidnap of a US citizen – the only westerner to appear in the movie

The film chronicles the planning and carrying out of an operation to blow up and oil refinery; an attack on a hotel to kill as many foreigners as possible as well as the group’s many assassination attempts as well as their propaganda videos. Together with this we see them sat around having fun and jokes and wheelbarrow races. Path of Blood is equally revealing, insightful and upsetting

Path of Blood is a brutally intimate insight into terror cells and the counter operations to go against them – including the propaganda use by both sides in this post 9/11 world

Path of Blood will not leave you with a good feeling by the time its end credits roll – nor will it give you answers as to why this happens. What it will give you is a new found insight into Islamic terror cells and how radicalization occurs within them and can be extended to other walks for life

Its highly recommended

Path of Blood is currently on a run of UK cinemas for the next couple of weeks

Co-producer Thomas Small and jihadist turned MI6 spy Aimen Dean we in attendance at the screening give an insight into the making of the movie and the people that featured in it as well as how radicalisation can occur. Aimen had a rare insight into this once being a terrorist himself and knowing some of the people that featured in the film